Google, the search-engine-cum-advertising broker, has launched a UK beta version of its Froogle catalogue search site. Froogle is a natural extension of Google's sponsored links and advertising. Search for an item and it'll return a list of UK retailers that sell it somewhere online, along with related paid-for advertising. The company says it has hundreds of merchants already signed up.

Froogle, Google says, isn't an online store, and you can't buy things from it. It is a "quick way to search the largest collection of stores and products on the web. That means if the item you are looking to buy is online, Froogle will likely find it."

Merchants who want to be included in the listings, for free, can submit an electronic data feed containing a description, price and image of the item they have for sale.